


Fine

by yuletide_archivist



Category: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-12-22
Updated: 2003-12-22
Packaged: 2018-01-25 01:58:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1625561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuletide_archivist/pseuds/yuletide_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Butch meets Sundance meets Etta, and the rest is history.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fine

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Epigone

 

 

"Fine"  
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid 

They first met because the Hole in the Wall gang needed a sharpshooter. That was back when Sling Jackson was still the head of the gang, and Harvey Logan his right hand man. Butch was already the brains of the operation, though, even then; and he knew that if the gang wanted to be more than just two-bit outlaws, they needed a real gunman. Sure, all the guys carried pistols and knew how to use them, but none of them were what you would call a crack shot. And in certain situations, you needed a man who could shoot at his target and never miss, or youd all be in a lot of trouble. 

It was News Carver who found him in a saloon fight, this boy no older than twenty who shot a mean pistol and was hardly a week out of jail. News brought the kid back to Hole in the Wall, where Sling and Harvey were out hunting ("Rabbits," they'd said with sly grins, and would later reappear almost a hundred dollars richer and without a word of explanation), so the only man with any sort of authority in the place was Butch. 

Butch took one look at the sharpshooter's face and dismissed him on the spot. "This kid's too young for our gang, News," he said. "Don't want his mama to come lookin' for him." 

The boy glared at him through the dust. "I'm twenty-one in three weeks," he said gruffly. His voice was lower than Butch expected. The kid possessed one of those open, cherubic faces that made him look several years younger than he actually was, and too pretty by half. An unfortunate face for a would-be outlaw. 

"He's just got out of jail, Butch," News said eagerly. "Tell him what you were in jail for, kid." 

Butch raised an eyebrow. "Well, kid, what were you in jail for?" 

The kid shrugged. "Helped an old buddy of mine hold up a bank out in Wyoming. Job didn't go so well, and we gave back the money, but I guess the sheriff figured I was too good a shot to get off so easy, so he threw me in for two years." 

"How good a shot were you, kid? Tell Butch here how good a shot you were." News' chest puffed up with pride. 

A grim smile twisted the kid's pretty face. "I guess I hurt a few of the sheriff's men pretty bad. Maybe thirteen or fourteen of them. My buddy didn't want no killings, but I guess I got them off our backs for a while. The sheriff sure wasn't too happy about that, though. I wish I could've just killed 'em and been done with it, but my buddy wouldn't let me. Good thing, I guess, or I'd probably still be behind bars." 

"Huh," Butch said, keeping his expression deliberately neutral. "We could use a man who can shoot thirteen or fourteen men pretty easily, couldn't we, News?" 

"I figure we could, Butch." 

"But see, kid," Butch said, "I only got your word for it that you're a good shot. You wanna maybe give us a little demonstration?" 

"All right," the kid said. "What d'you want me to shoot at?" 

Butch looked around. A small golden lizard was skittering across the dirt. Butch waited until it wa maybe twenty feet away from the kid, then pointed at it. "I've always wanted to shoot me a lizard." 

The kid squinted at it, then nodded. He paused, judging the distance, then before Butch even realized he'd gotten his gun out of its holster, there was a shot and a small cloud of dust kicked up where the lizard had been. When the dust cleared, the little broken body was curled up on the ground, shattered in two. 

Butch walked over to the dead lizard. He squatted down and inspected it silently. After a few long seconds, he stood, dusting off his pants. "All right," he said. "I'll tell Sling his gang has a new sharpshooter." 

News beamed. "I told you so, Butch. Didn't I tell you so?" 

"Yeah, News, you told me so." Butch looked over at the kid, who stood with his arms folded, a small, satisfied smile on his young face. "You got a name, kid?" 

The kid opened his mouth, too quickly, then thought better of it. "Sundance," he said finally. 

Butch's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Sundance, Wyoming. So you are that one." 

The kid didn't answer. 

"All right, then," Butch said. "Sundance. You got any bags?" 

"Just one." 

"That's fine. You can dump it in this here Hole in the Wall. News will show you where." The kid nodded and turned to follow News. "Oh, and kid?" 

"Yeah?" 

Butch grinned at him. "Grow a beard or a mustache or something, willya? You'll never be taken seriously looking like you're fifteen years old." 

The Sundance Kid grinned back. "If you say so, Butch."   
 

* * *

  


The first time the Kid got himself into trouble, he came to Butch. He shook the older man awake in the middle of the night. "Butch. Hey, Butch." 

"What is it? Go away. Can't a man get his hard-earned sleep around here?" 

"Butch, Sling's dead." 

Butch sat straight up in bed. "What the hell?" 

"I shot him." 

Butch stared at him for a second. He slowly ran a hand across his face. "All right, Sundance," he said calmly. "Tell me what happened." 

Sundance swallowed hard. "We was arguing over a game of cards. Sling insulted me. He called me a cheater, Butch. You know I don't cheat at cards." 

"I know. So you shot him?" 

"I guess I did." 

"Okay," Butch said. He leaned back, looking out the window. The sky was going grey with the half-light just before dawn. "Sling always said anyone could challenge him as gang leader. So you challenged him and you beat him, fair and square. Congratulations, kid. You're head of Hole in the Wall now." 

But Sundance was shaking his head. "I'm too new. I don't wanna be head of the gang. Anyway, as soon as Harvey gets back in, he'll kill me, him and the other guys. They don't like me. They don't trust me yet." 

"Huh," Butch said. He scratched the back of his neck. "So what do you think I can do about it?" 

"You're the brains," Sundance said with a small smile. "You're smart enough to run this gang, you just didn't want to challenge Sling. You want Harvey to be chief of this place? He's next in line, right?" 

Butch blinked. "Ah. I see. All right, you weren't gonna let me go back to sleep anyway." He stood, stretching. "So I killed Sling, right? I challenged him and I beat him." 

"Fair and square," Sundance said. 

"You're my witness, right Sundance?" 

"That's right. I saw the whole thing." 

"Okay," Butch said. "We'd better go tell the other boys about the change in management." 

Sundance let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "Thank you, Butch. I owe you one." 

Butch shot him a piercing look. "I won't let you forget it, Sundance." 

When Harvey rode back in later that afternoon, News told him about Sling and the gang's new leadership. Harvey's fists clenched at his sides. "Says who?" he growled. 

News swallowed nervously. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," he said. 

It was the first time their names were ever said together in the same breath like that, and it sounded mighty fine. Harvey ground his teeth a bit, but he didn't say another word. It wasn't until years later that he tried to challenge Butch, and, well, that didn't work out too well for Harvey.   
 

* * *

  


Sundance first saw Etta at a social dance in her town. She wasn't a very good dancer, but her hair was long and flowing and she smiled with her eyes. 

Two days later, he talked her into bed with him. 

Two days after that, he introduced her to Butch. Butch gave her an all-too-obvious once over, and smiled appreciatively. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Miz Etta." 

She lifted her chin haughtily. "This is the sort of trash you run around with, Sundance?" But her eyes were smiling. 

Butch clapped a hand dramatically over his heart. "She wounds me, Kid! She's got a sting worse than any of your bullets." His eyes were smiling back. 

Later that evening, when they'd all had too much bad wine, Butch pulled Sundance aside. "You've got quite a catch there, Kid." 

Sundance laughed. "Touch her and I'll kill you, Butch." He smiled, but his eyes were uncharacteristically chilly. 

After a moment, Butch laughed with him, clapping him on the back. "You saw her first, my friend. Don't worry, I'll respect that." 

He staggered away to drink himself into a stupor. Sundance took Etta back into his room. Her skin was like fire under his hands. 

"So that was ol' Butch, huh?" she said, grinning as she unfastened her bodice. 

"Yeah," Sundance muttered, trying to help her along but just fumbling the ties, as usual. Women's clothing, pah. He could never figure out how it worked. 

Etta giggled and batted his hands away. "Stop that, you're just making it worse. Do you want me naked or not?" 

Sundance did not deign to answer her. 

She smiled, wriggling out of her underthings. "He's quite a catch, that Butch." 

Sundance grabbed her arms and pulled her against him. "Touch him and I'll kill you," he breathed in her ear. 

Etta tossed back her head and laughed, winking at him. "Don't worry, Sundance," she said saucily. "He's all yours." 

Before Sundance had a chance to splutter out his retort, she had him pinned to the bed and effectively silenced for the rest of the night.   
 

* * *

  


When things got bad for Butch and the Kid, they hightailed it out of the West like jackrabbits from a fire. On the steamship from New York to Bolivia, Sundance and Etta worked out a system with their compartments. When the door was open, one or the other of them was out, and Butch was allowed inside. When the door was closed with Etta's necklace across the handle, they were busy and Butch had better keep away. 

But when the door was closed and there was no necklace, they were both in and Butch was more than welcome. Those were the most interesting nights. None of them could exactly remember how the system had started, but it worked out very nicely for all three. 

When they got to Bolivia, they stopped using Etta's necklace entirely.   
 

* * *

  


It was odd and awkward, the first night after Etta left. Butch had finally gotten used to her presence, and Sundance and Etta had finally gotten used to Butch, and then suddenly their trio was torn apart. Butch and Sundance, alone together again but different, off-balance. 

"She'll come back, don't worry," Butch said. "Or we'll go back to her." 

"Yeah," Sundance said. He missed her smiling eyes. 

"Just gotta finish up here," Butch continued. 

"Right." 

"Then we can go back. Or somewhere completely different, maybe. She could meet up with us." 

"Sure, Butch." 

Butch looked at him. "We'll find other girls." 

Sundance shook his head. "Don't want none." 

Insects clicked and buzzed in the night air. Sundance wondered how many hours were left until morning. "Hey," Butch said, and Sundance glanced over at him and nodded. 

It felt weird, just the two of them, without Etta as the connection, the focus. But it was better than nothing. 

"Okay?" Butch whispered, shifting against Sundance's sweat-slickened skin. 

"Okay." 

And when morning came, maybe it was.   
 

* * *

  


When Etta saw the newspaper headlines, she didn't cry. She'd known it was coming for a long time. That's why she'd left them, after all. She hadn't wanted to watch them die. 

'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,' the papers announced, and she didn't bother reading any further, just stared at the print of their names. They would've liked that, she decided, seeing the way their names looked together on paper. They looked mighty fine. 

* 

 


End file.
